10 Amazing Moments From The Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer

At long last, the much-anticipated first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi has arrived. Courtesy of the big 40th anniversary Star Wars Celebration happening in Orlando this weekend, the panel for the upcoming Episode VIII gave us our first look at the next chapter in the saga, and boy was it exciting. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver and the rest of the cast will be back in action for this second entry in the sequel trilogy, while Looper director Rian Johnson will take over the reigns from The Force Awakens' J.J. Abrams. Up to this point, we've known very little about what the film would consist of - apart from any fan theories we could come up with - but now, we can finally begin to start piecing together the plot before The Last Jedi arrives this December. So, what did the trailer teach us about the movie? Join us as we pick out the best moments from it, as well as a few easily-missed easter eggs, and speculate about what's set to go down in the film. As always, once you're done reading, be sure to let us know your thoughts on this first bit of footage down in the comments section below. 10) Rey's Training If there's one thing we've always known about the plot of The Last Jedi, it's that it'll involve Rey receiving some proper Jedi training from Luke, after she tracked him down to his marooned outpost on Ahch-To in the closing moments of The Force Awakens. The trailer wisely jumps right into this and gives us a taste as to what Rey's training will be like. "Breathe..." whispers Luke, in what's actually the first the thing we've heard the character say since 1983's Return of the Jedi. "Just breathe." We then cut to Rey struggling to do just that - we know how you feel, Rey! - as the Force presumably overwhelms her. As we all know she must, though, the trailer hints that Rey will find her footing. As Luke tells her: "now... reach out," and we get a beautiful shot of Rey shaking the ground with the Force. Of course, this will all be familiar to fans, as it heavily recalls Luke's own training at the hands of Yoda back in The Empire Strikes Back. We hope that Last Jedi won't copy that film to the extent that Force Awakens did A New Hope, but this level of homage is still lots of fun. 9) Leia Is The Light Star Wars fans everywhere were left heartbroken last December when Carrie Fisher tragically passed away. She did finish filming her scenes for The Last Jedi though before she died and while most of the footage of her is held back here, we do get a glimpse of the actress from behind. As Rey's training continues, Luke asks her what she sees. "The light," she replies. This line is played over the top of what can only be General Organa overseeing operations with the Resistance. It's a touching moment in the trailer as it gives us a glimpse of Fisher and also serves as a reminder that, with Han gone and Luke living as a hermit, Leia is the sole senior face of the Resistance now. It's also worth a mention that Rey and Luke are discussing the Force here, so Leia representing the light side could be a hint that her latent Force-sensitivity will be finally explored in The Last Jedi. After all, she did get to say the classic "May the Force be with you" line in the last movie. 8) R.I.P. Kylo's Mask As we all know, there's not just one side to the Force. So when Luke asks Rey what she sees, she also mentions "the darkness." To illustrate this, we get John Williams' brilliant theme for Kylo Ren popping up on the soundtrack as the trailer cuts to the intriguing image of Ren's helmet, all destroyed into itty, bitty pieces and smoking. So, what happens that leaves Kylo's preferred headwear in such a state? From a behind-the-scenes perspective, this was probably done so that Adam Driver could show off his face more often throughout the film. In The Force Awakens, the mask was used to hold back the reveal that he's really Ben Solo, Han and Leia's son, but now that we know that, there isn't too much of a reason for him to wear the helmet. Apart from the fact that it looks cool, of course. Furthermore, this moment recalls a very similar shot from the trailer to The Force Awakens. You may recall that, in that scene, Ren himself is paying respect to his grandaddy Darth Vader's battered helmet (cue the famous "I will finish what you started" line). We should also mention that, if you listen very closely, you can hear an audio clip of Darth Vader breathing and then what we think is Obi-Wan speaking about being "seduced by the Dark Side." 7) "The Balance" The third thing that Rey apparently "sees" is "the balance" - obviously the slippery balance in the Force that the Jedi have been seeking ever since the prequels. Will Rey finally do what Anakin was originally destined to do and balance out good and evil? On top of this, we see some intriguing shots. First, a fortuitous beam of light shines down on a bookshelf of what we imagine are Luke's few remaining sacred Jedi texts. We then see Rey open one of the books and study a version of the Jedi symbol. The eagle-eyed among you may recognize this as the same image as that on The Last Jedi poster, in which it's formed by Rey's lightsaber bursting with light. We might be wrong, but we can guess that this book is the Journal of the Whills, a Jedi bible that dates back to George Lucas' earliest drafts of Star Wars. It was brought into canon when it was mentioned in The Force Awakens novelization, which suggests that it'll be featured here. After this, Luke can be heard saying "it's so much bigger." This is intriguing, as it suggests we'll delve deeper into what exactly the Force is. It seems likely that it'll be revealed as something much bigger than the Jedi and the Sith. Like the voices in the background in the previous clip, with this scene you can just about hear Yoda, as well as the sound of a lightsaber igniting. 6) Battle On Crait Now this is where the trailer really kicks off. As the music builds, the action moves to what looks to be a battle between the Resistance forces and the First Order. At about 1:16, we see a fleet of ships that are spewing red smoke while surfing along an alien desert. They aren't that easy to spot, but if you look closely you can make out that these ships are heading towards some AT-ATs coming their way on the horizon. So, what are these new class of ships and where is this battle occurring? In an interview with EW, director Rian Johnson called them “skimmers,” which we're taking to be just a description and not their official designation. He also revealed that the planet is Crait and that it's home to an old rebel base. “It’s way out there. It’s very remote. It’s uncharted. It’s a mineral planet and so there are mines on it,” Johnson explained. He also mentioned that Crait will play a “key role” in The Last Jedi. Color us intrigued. 5) Finn And Poe Cameos The trailer mostly focuses on Rey and Luke, which isn't surprising as they'll most likely be the emphasis of the film. However, fans will be pleased to see that their other favourite characters also get a look in, too. One of them isn't doing too well, though. At the end of The Force Awakens, Finn is left seriously injured after his and Rey's big climactic battle with Kylo Ren. The trailer reveals that he won't be straight back up on his feet in The Last Jedi. At about the 1:20 mark, we see the unconscious Finn either in some kind of craft or perhaps his intensive care unit. The following shot cuts to the other stars of The Force Awakens: Poe Dameron and his trusty droid BB-8. The pair are seen racing through the Resistance base to reach their X-Wing... before it's blown up. Hope you had insurance for that thing, Poe. On a side note, the many fans out there who are hoping that Finn and Poe will be revealed as a gay couple in the movie have not missed the fact that this clip comes right after the shot of Finn in trouble. Is Poe running to save him? It's possible. 4) The Millennium Falcon Flies Again Even though Han Solo was tragically cut down by his own son in The Force Awakens, his ship will still fight the good fight in The Last Jedi. At around 1:25, we see the iconic Millennium Falcon fly into view as it shoots down a TIE fighter in a scene that's perhaps Star Wars boiled down to its core. It makes us wonder, though, just who's flying the ship? It could be Poe or Finn, perhaps, but we'd like to think that it's Chewbacca, having been bumped up to pilot after the death of his best friend. Uh, excuse us, there's just something in our eye... The Millennium Falcon isn't the only classic Star Wars craft that will appear in Last Jedi, though. At around 1:16, some AT-ATs can be glimpsed as specks in the far distance. They seem to be coming up against a new class of Resistance ships, too. 3) Rey Versus Kylo: Round Two After their first fight formed the big climax of The Force Awakens, Rey and Kylo Ren were always going to duke it out again in The Last Jedi and it looks like we get our first glimpse at their next tete-a-tete in the trailer. At around 1:25, we see Rey running at someone with a determined look on her face and her lightsaber drawn. We then cut immediately to a badass-looking Ren, as he brandishes his own lightsaber at an opponent. The similar lighting and background heavily suggests these two clips are part of the same scene. Alternatively, the editing could be misleading and Rey could be running to someone else entirely and Kylo could be drawing his lightsaber at another opponent. Luke, perhaps? If this is Rey and Kylo’s battle, though, it should be a lot of fun to see them fight again now that they're on more equal footing in the ways of the Force. Interestingly, you might notice that Ren has a new scar above his right eye in the shot. It’s probably not a coincidence that it's highly reminiscent of the scar his grandfather Anakin had in the same place in Revenge of the Sith. 2) The Knights Of Ren Attack In The Force Awakens, some handy flashbacks briefly appear when Rey touches Luke's old lightsaber and receives some Force visions. One of these was Kylo and his Knights of Ren and another saw Luke, shrouded in a cloak, and R2-D2 standing before a fire. We know that these were flashes of the day that Ben Solo turned against his Jedi master and murdered his fellow students as he completed his turn to the Dark Side. The trailer reveals that these scenes will be elaborated upon in The Last Jedi. After an awesome shot of Kylo threatening an unseen enemy (probably Rey) with his lightsaber, we cut to a clip of a burning building with a cloaked figure and R2-D2 in the foreground. This scene matches up perfectly with TFA flashbacks, so we can guess that that's the Jedi temple being destroyed and the figure falling to their knees in shock is Luke. The next scene confuses things, as it's also set in a burning setting. At first glance, then, it looks to be Kylo Ren and his Knights storming through the remains of the temple. On reflection, though, it's probably another scene entirely, as it features Captain Phasma leading her troop. 1) "It's Time For The Jedi To End" Now, here's the bit that will really get fans talking. After a classic Star Wars space battle, the trailer then goes back to the beginning with Luke on Ahch-To. It's here where he makes his shocking admission: "It is time for the Jedi... to end." First of all, this explains where the title comes from, but it also raises the question of what exactly Luke means. It could simply mean that he feels the Jedi's days are numbered, so it's sadly now their time. More likely, though, it seems that Luke is saying that the Jedi should end. We can guess that, after what happened to his father and the tragic turn of his nephew Ben, Luke has lost faith in the Jedi. It's sad to think that Luke, who once wanted to become a Jedi more than anything, has now become so disillusioned with the order that he thinks the galaxy would be better without them. Perhaps his arc in Star Wars: The Last Jedi will see his belief in the light reinvigorated by mentoring Rey though? Just in time for him to die and become one with the Force? We'll have to wait and see...